ESL and Facebook Gaming Expand Partnership Through 2019 for Coverage of All Global ESL Esports Events on a Non-Exclusive Basis

ESL, the world’s largest independent esports company, and Facebook Gaming today announced an expansion to their partnership to bring coverage of all global ESL esports competitions non-exclusively to the Facebook platform.

ESL will broadcast both its flagship circuit events, Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) and ESL One, as well as the premier professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Pro League. Distribution began with the Regional Qualifiers in CS:GO for the IEM Katowice Minor on January 16, 2019 and will run through December 2019. Competitions will be streamed globally on Facebook in English via 1080p/60fps broadcasts with ESL Pro League live streams in both English and Portuguese.

“ESL brings together a global community of esports fans and aims to deliver amazing esports experiences to audiences around the world, both online and through large scale events,” said Ralf Reichert, Co-CEO, ESL. “ESL will be providing multiple sources in which fans can experience our flagship circuits online — including a return to Facebook Gaming to continue bringing content to its rapidly growing audience.”

Since the start of ESL live streaming on Facebook, both companies have collaborated to make significant updates to the watch experience for esports fans. New updates include video quality and stability improvements as well as easier ways to discover ESL events.

“Expanding ESL content to include all global esports competitions is a way for us to satisfy the growing appetite for watching gaming video content on Facebook,” said Leo Olebe, Global Director, Games Partnerships, Facebook. “Providing ESL fans a way to watch esports on multiple platforms is something we know the community cares about, and that’s a big reason why all 2019 content will broadcast anywhere ESL chooses to stream. We’ll continue to listen and act on feedback from gamers as we work together in building the world’s gaming community.”

Fans can watch and follow ESL content at fb.gg, Facebook’s gaming video destination, and at individual Pages for IEM, ESL One and Pro League: